Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Acquire James Ennis From Grizzlies

February 8th, 2018 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:05pm: The Pistons have officially acquired Ennis, the team announced tonight in a press release.

11:44am: The pick included in the deal is for 2022, according to Chris Herrington of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link), who adds that the Pistons will use their Disabled Player Exception to accommodate Ennis.

11:29am: The Pistons have acquired James Ennis from the Grizzlies in exchange for Brice Johnson and a second-round pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. It’s the same package that Detroit had been rumored to send to New Orleans in exchange for Dante Cunningham.

After a couple of years as a journeyman, Ennis found a home in Memphis over the past two seasons, developing into a regular part of the rotation. The 27-year-old is averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds through 45 games this season. He has an expiring contract worth a little more than $3MM.

Johnson, 23, was acquired from the Clippers last week in the deal that brought Blake Griffin to Detroit. A first-round pick in 2016, Johnson had yet to suit up for the Pistons and played just nine games in L.A. this season. He is still on his rookie contract and is making a little more than $1.33MM.

Because of the salary discrepancy, the Pistons will have to use either the Disabled Player Exception of $5.2MM they were awarded earlier this week or a $7MM trade exception to take on Ennis’s contract.

Bulls Trade Jameer Nelson To Pistons

February 8th, 2018 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

1:53pm: The Pistons have confirmed the trade via a press release.

10:11am: The Bulls are sending veteran point guard Jameer Nelson to the Pistons in a deadline-day trade, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). According to Charania, center Willie Reed will be headed to Chicago. The Bulls will also get the right to swap 2022 second-round picks with the Pistons, per Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (via Twitter).

Both Nelson and Reed have already been traded within the last week and a half — Nelson moved from New Orleans to Chicago in the Nikola Mirotic trade, while Reed was one of the pieces the Pistons acquired from the Clippers alongside Blake Griffin. Nelson and Reed were both eligible to be traded again this week, but couldn’t have had their salaries aggregated with another player’s salary in a deal.

For the Pistons, Nelson will help fortify the point guard position, which has been somewhat shorthanded this season due to Reggie Jackson‘s lengthy injury absence. Ish Smith and Dwight Buycks have done a respectable job handling point guard duties with Jackson on the shelf, but Nelson will provide a steady veteran hand.

Nelson, who will turn 36 on Friday, appeared in 43 games for the Pelicans this season, averaging 5.1 PPG and 3.6 APG with a .410/.364/.765 shooting line in 20.9 minutes per contest. In Detroit, he’ll reunite with Stan Van Gundy, who coached him for several seasons in Orlando.

As for Reed, the 27-year-old center was solid as a part-timer in Miami last season, averaging 5.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 71 games with the Heat. His per-minute numbers have remained solid for the Clippers and Pistons this season, but he’s playing a career-low 10.2 MPG. He was also recently hit with a six-game suspension as a result of a domestic incident that took place last summer, though the NBPA has filed a grievance on his behalf.

Like Nelson, Reed will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so he seems unlikely to fit into the Bulls’ long-term plans. In fact, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago reports (via Twitter) that Chicago plans to immediately waive the big man.

The Bulls and Pistons will each create modest trade exceptions in the swap, with Chicago getting one worth Nelson’s salary ($1,429,818) and Detroit creating one worth Reed’s salary ($1,471,382).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons In Serious Talks To Acquire Dante Cunningham

February 8th, 2018 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans and Pistons are engaged in discussions on a deal that would send Dante Cunningham to Detroit in exchange for Brice Johnson and a second-round pick, reports Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) classifies those talks as “serious.”

As I noted earlier today when Scott Kushner of The Advocate described Cunningham as a trade candidate for the Pelicans, the veteran forward has the ability to veto a deal that involves him. However, league sources tell Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link) that Cunningham has requested a trade, so he seems unlikely to take advantage of his ability to block a move.

The Pistons have already reportedly struck a deal with the Bulls to acquire point guard Jameer Nelson in exchange for Willie Reed. Johnson, like Reed, arrived in Detroit as a result of last week’s Blake Griffin trade. If the Pistons can complete a deal with the Pelicans, they’ll end up flipping both of those non-Griffin pieces from the Clippers to new teams in order to fortify their rotation with some additional veteran help.

Cunningham, 30, has spent the last three and a half seasons in New Orleans, appearing in 263 total games for the club during that time and starting almost exactly half (132) of them. Although he has been a reliable rotation piece for most of that time, Cunningham’s 2017/18 marks of 5.0 PPG and .440 FG% are his lowest since he joined the Pelicans, and he was benched for the entirety of the club’s most recent game.

For the Pelicans, Johnson – who has appeared in just 12 NBA games – would offer little upside, but a trade would allow the team to pick up an extra second-rounder and move a little further away from the luxury tax threshold. If the two teams can complete a deal, New Orleans could also absorb Johnson using one of their existing trade exceptions, creating a new trade exception worth Cunningham’s $2,300,000 salary.

If the Pistons and Pelicans don’t get anything done, the Timberwolves would be another team to watch for a Cunningham trade, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge.

Spurs Interested In Trading For Avery Bradley

February 8th, 2018 at 8:23am CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 8, 8:23am: According to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), the Pistons discussed the possibility of trading Bradley or Stanley Johnson to San Antonio for Danny Green before including him in the Blake Griffin trade, so it makes sense that the Spurs would still have interest.

One potential deal the Spurs and Clippers have discussed is Green and a first-round pick in exchange for Bradley, league sources tell Stein (Twitter link). However, San Antonio would prefer not to part with a first-rounder, Stein adds (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 7, 10:31pm: The Spurs have become a “trade suitor” for Clippers guard Avery Bradley, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Bradley was acquired from the Pistons last week in the deal that sent Blake Griffin to Detroit. He has an $8.8MM expiring contract and reportedly isn’t in the Clippers’ long-term plans. He has been productive in two games for L.A., playing 30 minutes per night and averaging 10.0 points.

The Spurs have been shorthanded on the wing with both Kawhi Leonard and Rudy Gay sidelined by injuries. It would take Gay, Danny Green or a combination of smaller salaries to match up with Bradley’s, and the Clippers will probably want some draft assets in return.

Central Notes: Pistons, S. Johnson, Dunn, Bucks

February 7th, 2018 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Disabled Player Exception the Pistons received doesn’t make them more likely to complete another deal before tomorrow’s trade deadline, writes Ansar Khan of MLive. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy says tax concerns will limit the team’s ability to follow up last week’s blockbuster that brought Blake Griffin to Detroit.

“The chances of that helping us at all are very, very slim because it would take us into the [luxury] tax to begin with and we only have until March 12 to use it,” Van Gundy told reporters before tonight’s game. “I don’t expect it to be of much value, but you want to have every tool at your disposal.”

The Pistons’ DPE is valued at about $5.25MM, half the salary of Jon Leuer, who is out for the season with an ankle injury. The Griffin deal cost the team its top two scorers in Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley, but Van Gundy believes there are still enough good shooters on the roster.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

It might take a starter and a draft pick to pry Stanley Johnson away from the Pistons, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Johnson is among the team’s best defensive players and has increased his offensive production over the past five games, averaging 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
Bulls guard Kris Dunn returned to practice today for the first time since suffering a concussion after taking a hard fall in a January 17th game, writes Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Dunn has been ruled out for Friday’s game, but is hoping to play again before the All-Star break. However, coach Fred Hoiberg warned that may not be possible. “He hasn’t done anything,” Hoiberg said. “His inactivity will prevent him from playing anytime soon. But the important thing is he was able to do some non-contact drills, he’s been on the treadmill, he’s completed the bike portion.” The Bulls are 1-7 without Dunn, who sparked a streak of success after moving into the starting lineup in December.
The Bucks created a $1.9MM trade exception when they shipped Rashad Vaughn to the Nets on Monday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Milwaukee also has two other trade exceptions valued at $3,4MM and $5MM.

Forbes Releases 2018 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 7th, 2018 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are still reeling from Tuesday’s news that Kristaps Porzingis has suffered a torn ACL and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. While Porzingis’ injury essentially eliminates the Knicks from the playoff race in the East, team ownership can at least find some solace in the fact that the organization remains the highest-valued franchise in the NBA, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.

For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. In 2017, 18 teams had a valuation exceeding $1 billion, which was up from 13 teams in 2016 and just three teams in 2015.

The league-wide average of $1.65 billion per team is also a record, with franchise valuations up 22% in total over last year’s figures. NBA franchise values have tripled over the last five years, according to Badenhausen.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

New York Knicks: $3.6 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $3.3 billion
Golden State Warriors: $3.1 billion
Chicago Bulls: $2.6 billion
Boston Celtics: $2.5 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $2.3 billion
Houston Rockets: $2.2 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $2.15 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $1.9 billion
Miami Heat: $1.7 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $1.55 billion
Toronto Raptors: $1.4 billion
Sacramento Kings: $1.375 billion
Washington Wizards: $1.35 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.325 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $1.3 billion
Phoenix Suns: $1.28 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.25 billion
Orlando Magic: $1.225 billion
Utah Jazz: $1.2 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $1.18 billion
Indiana Pacers: $1.175 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $1.15 billion
Denver Nuggets: $1.125 billion
Detroit Pistons: $1.1 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $1.075 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.06 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $1.05 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $1.025 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $1 billion

For comparison’s sake, Forbes’ 2017 valuations can be found right here.

Ellis: Kennard, Johnson Seem Unlikely To Be Moved

February 7th, 2018 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

Based on the Pistons‘ cap situation, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press believes it’s “highly unlikely” that either Luke Kennard or Stanley Johnson gets moved before Thursday’s deadline. Both players will attract interest from other teams, but their affordable contracts are valuable to the Pistons, who are on the hook for a few big contracts, including Blake Griffin‘s.

Pistons Assign Brice Johnson To Grand Rapids

February 6th, 2018 at 9:05pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pistons sent recently acquired forward Brice Johnson to their G League affiliate in Grand Rapids, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Johnson had previously played 23 games of action with Agua Caliente, the Clippers’ affiliate.

Willie Reed Suspended Six Games For Domestic Incident

February 6th, 2018 at 6:06pm CST by Austin Kent

6:06pm: The NBA Player’s Association has announced that it will file a grievance on behalf of Reed, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets.

4:26pm: Recently acquired Pistons big man Willie Reed has been suspended by the NBA for six games, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel relays. The incident at hand unfolded in Florida last August.

As we wrote at the time, the NBA built into its latest Collective Bargaining Agreement a new policy for dealing with domestic violence situations such as this one and the punishment will end up costing the big man $65K (h/t ESPN’s Bobby Marks).

While Reed’s wife elected not to press charges at the time, the 27-year-old had an arraignment hearing in October and was given the option to participate in a diversion program. We broke down Winderman’s reporting on the legal proceedings at the time.

Per the press release announcing the league’s six-game suspension, the NBA conducted its own extensive investigation into the matter, as outlined in the new CBA.

Pistons Awarded Disabled Player Exception

February 6th, 2018 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has awarded the Pistons a disabled player exception in the wake of Jon Leuer‘s season-ending ankle injury, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The exception will be worth $5,248,660, half of Leuer’s salary for 2017/18.

The disabled player exception granted to the Pistons won’t give the team an extra roster spot or any additional compensation. However, Detroit now has another tool available to acquire a player without requiring cap room.

The Pistons’ disabled player exception will allow the team to sign a free agent for the rest of the season or to acquire a player in the final year of his contract via trade or waiver claim. The team will have until March 12 to use its DPE.

With the Pistons having been awarded a disabled player exception, there are now seven NBA teams holding those exceptions for 2017/18. One of those clubs – the Celtics – has committed to using its DPE to sign free agent center Greg Monroe. Of the remaining six disabled player exceptions, the Pistons’ DPE is the third-most valuable, behind the ones held by the Nets ($6MM) and Heat ($5.5MM).